Public Campaign Praises President Obama's Nomination of John J. Sullivan for Federal Election Commission... -- WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Public Campaign Praises President Obama's Nomination of John J. Sullivan for Federal Election Commission Post

WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Public Campaign, a national nonprofit organization advocating comprehensive public financing of elections, issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama's intent to nominate John J. Sullivan to fill a vacancy on the Federal Election Commission:

John Sullivan's broad range of practical experience with election law makes him a strong nominee for one of the vacancies at the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Public Campaign praises both President Barack Obama for his intent to nominate Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Sullivan for his long commitment to ensuring the voices and votes all of us are heard and counted in our electoral process.

We offer our support for Mr. Sullivan's nomination because of his integral role in shaping the Service Employee International Union's (SEIU) endorsements of both state and federal public financing of elections. As SEIU's associate general counsel, Mr. Sullivan reviewed and supported legislation, like Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) and Rep. John Larson's (D-Conn.) Fair Elections Now bills, which were introduced on March 31st of this year, and the successful Citizens' Election Program in Connecticut. These approaches to financing our elections signal a new way that emphasizes citizen participation and engagement in elections.

We also praise Mr. Sullivan's work on voters' rights and election protection and we believe this work provides an additional window into the type of commissioner he will be should he be confirmed. While not directly under the purview of the FEC, Mr. Sullivan's advocacy and hands on work to ensure the betterment of a functioning election system represents a basic core value we hold in common with him: that all barriers to full participation in our democracy should be eliminated, whether they are financial or structural.

The FEC is an agency under fire. We understand that very little of what ails the FEC or our campaign finance laws can be fixed solely with new commissioners. Yet more damage can be done to the agency's reputation, and more importantly, to the laws governing how elections are paid for, with new commissioners who would stifle participation in elections by voters of average means. That is why we believe Mr. Sullivan's nomination is critically important and we urge a quick Senate confirmation of Mr. Sullivan to the FEC.